however, iran contradicted the president saying it was intentional because it believes the u.s. drone violated its airspace. the pentagon, as barbara said, maintains that it was over international waters and released video that it claims shows a smoke trail in international airspace. but deliberations continue tonight, anderson, over what the next steps should be, if anything, on top of already sending 2,500 troops to the middle east in response to the recent acts by iran. prior to this latest act, officials said the president resisted the idea of military engagement. tonight he faces growing pressure from allying like senator lindsey graham who says he risks looking like he s all talk if he doesn t take action. the president said we ll have to see if the u.s. decides to use military force. i m told by an administration official he is being constantly briefed on iran by his national security adviser john bolton, who is known to have more hawkish views on iran. the president said today
are told the smoke trail after the drone was hit. i want to bring in cnn pentagon reporter ryan brown. he s live for us from the pentagon. the pentagon just held a press conference, ryan. what did we learn? reporter: well, we re learning new details about exactly where this u.s. military drone was when it was shot down by this iranian missile. the pentagon providing a map and additional information saying where it was operating. they said very clear lly it wasn international airspace. the top general who oversees air operations in the middle east says it s 34 kilometers, that s 20 miles, off the iranian coast, well into international airspace according to the pentagon. also the nature of this kind of drone, an rq-4, very large. it wouldn t be involved in any clandestine spy operations. it s hard to miss. so this thing according to the u.s. military very clearly operating in international airspace. the pentagon also saying this airspace is used as an air
you ll see that black smoke trail come into view. very short, very brief video clip. not the best quality the pentagon knows but they are adamant this is the shootdown of the u.s. military drone over the strait of hormuz. let s unpack a little more of what the president had to say. he is saying this could be a mistake. how could the president of the united states reasonably know that? you would have to have either perhaps intercepts, eavesdropping of conversations between iranian commanders and government officials that would tell you it s a mistake. you would have to have some understanding that the launch point on the coast of iran was not under government control, that it might have been the revolutionary guard corps acting on its own. you would have to come to an awful lot of conclusions. you would have to have the assessment that the government does not control the revolutionary guard corps and in some cases they don t fully.
which the president did tell reporters there in the oval office that is clearly documented. but every time we asked what is going to be your next action, the president would not telegraph that because he said he didn t think that would be a smart decision. he only said that we will see. but a big deal that the president is saying he thinks it might have been an actual mistake that iran shot down that u.s. military drone. times change his tone and emphasis. very important there, the president of the united states trying to create a little bit more space for himself and perhaps the iranian government as they try to work this out. the pentagon releasing what it says is more evidence about what happened. barbara starr is live at the pentagon. barbara, a video. what are we talking about? we have a very short video clip to show the viewers, john, and we ll try and keep playing it. the pentagon releasing this black-and-white video a short time ago that it says shows the smoke trail of the
reporter: the pentagon maintains the drone was over international waters and released this video, showing a smoke trail in international air space. president trump and a delicate dance, saying all options are on the table but that the situation would be more severe if americans had been harmed. we didn t have a man or woman in the drone. we had nobody in the drone. would have made a big difference, let me tell you. would have made a big, big difference. reporter: key trump ally senator lindsey graham, says trump s options are running out. here is what iran needs to get ready for severe pain. if they re itching for a fight they re going to get one. house speaker nancy pelosi had a warning for the president over credibility. started to lose credibility on the subject when we walked away from the nuclear agreement with iran. reporter: all of this as the pentagon plans to deploy 1,000 more american troops to the region to counter iran s hostile acts, including last week s b